A conventional conveyance facility for suspended conveyance of articles is shown in European Patent No. 2121489. The conveyance facility shown in European Patent No. 2121489 includes a traveling rail guiding carriers (conveyance unit) for the suspended conveyance of the articles along a conveyance path; a drive belt (friction transmission belt) provided along the traveling rail, and coming into frictional contact with the carriers to thereby move the carriers; and a belt drive unit driving the drive belt.
On the drive belt, multiple pins (section dividers) engaging with the carriers are provided at predetermined intervals on a surface on the side of the frictional contact with the carriers. The drive belt comes into frictional contact with the carriers, and also engages with the pins to thereby cause the carriers to travel. Accordingly, the carriers traveling along the traveling rail travel at intervals depending on a distance between adjacent pins.
In the conveyance facility shown in European Patent No. 2121489, the pins on the drive belt engage with the carriers (conveyance unit) to thereby cause the carriers (conveyance unit) to travel. Such pins, however, simply abut a side surface on a rear side of each of the carriers (conveyance unit) with respect to a traveling direction, and do not sufficiently hold the carrier (conveyance unit) with respect to the drive belt. Accordingly and unfortunately, in acceleration or deceleration of the carriers (conveyance unit), depending on a status of the traveling rail, the carriers (conveyance unit) cannot be caused to travel at the intervals kept between the carriers.